Back To You

Chapter 18

Earth, 700 years ago.

It was a dreadfully hot day, and the midday sun was unforgiving, but the girl running along the beach completely ignored the burn on her tan skin. She continued running to her favourite hiding spot, which had so far remained undiscovered by her tutor, nanny and guards. As she neared a particular sloped section of the rocky cliff side, she began climbing, careful not to trip on her long gown.

Somewhere along the rocky surface, about fifteen feet above the ground, was a hole through which the young girl effortlessly fitted. On the other side was a large cave, dark but dry and relatively clean. The only light came from the little sunlight that entered through the cave's small opening.

After climbing down, the girl stomped about angrily from one end of the cave to the other, muttering to herself. All of a sudden, she threw her hands in the air, a look of utter frustration marring her otherwise angelic face.

Just as she began another round of pacing, a strange glow of light permeated through the cave. In shock, she looked at the circular light hovering in the middle of the air. She received an even bigger fright when a boy tumbled out from the light, lying sprawled on the floor. A moment later, the glowing circle vanished, but the boy remained.

Just as she was about to ask if he was alright, the boy tried sitting up and inadvertently placed his hand under the direct rays of sunlight coming from the cave entrance. It was only for a second, but the effect was instantaneous. He yelled, holding his hand to his mouth and blowing at it as if it were on fire.

The boy turned to stare at the sunlight on the floor with a look of confusion before it quickly changed to one of horror. He frantically crab-crawled away from the light source, but a moment later, he heard a shrill cry behind him.

"Stop! Do not come any closer!"

Turning to face the voice, he was dumbfounded to find the girl, now armed with several pebbles in each hand, glaring at him. "You are a vampire," she stated, her voice trembling from fury and fear. He stilled, realising that only a non-vampire would ask such a question. Judging from her elaborate dress and haughty demeanour, he guessed she was a young witch. Since she already knew, he saw no point in lying. "I am." Immediately she rained pebbles on him, and he yelled more from fright than pain. "Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Leave!"

He said, "I have no idea where I am or how I got here—"

The girl rudely interrupted, "You fell through a light-filled hole. Get back in it and be on your way!"

The boy was still seated on the floor, surrounded by pebbles. He absentmindedly picked a smooth black one from the mix. Now that he was paying closer attention, the boy noticed the muscles of his limbs felt drained of energy, almost as if he had run a mile. The realisation of what had happened dawned on him. His Talent must have been activated for the first time in his life. For now, his body was tired because his energy reserves had just been used.

Looking back at her, he tried to reason, "If I could just have a moment to rest—"

"No! I hate you," she shouted.

"What? Why?"

"You are a vampire. I hate vampires. You killed my mother!"

Mathias's mouth fell open. No one had ever said such untruths before to his face. Surging anger and hurt began to fill his mind. He continued stroking the smooth pebble in his hand, eyes downcast. "I never really knew my mother. She died when I was four. Father says she died honourably protecting our borderlands." He finally raised his eyes to meet the girl's hostile gaze. "You killed my mother too."